Re: maiden mares?

[K S Swigart <katswig@deltanet.com>]

On Tue, 8 Dec 1998, Susan Evans Garlinghouse wrote:

> Any comments on the quality of foals from a maiden mare?  I've heard
> everything from "they're throwaways" to "there's no difference".  

Seattle Slew was My Charmer's first foal.  One can hardly say that he was
a throw away.

I come down pretty much on the "there's no difference" side of the fence.
I understand that some studies have been done using embryo transfer so
that full brothers/sisters can be born in the same year and implanting
them in both maiden mares and in mares that have foaled before.

What they found was that foals from maiden mares are (generally) born
smaller, but pretty much catch up within about 6 months.

You are mistaking foals for children (you know the old saying, "Children
are like waffles, you have to throw the first one away." :).

From my own experience, however, on the two mares that I have bred, their
first foals aren't quite as nice as their second.  I attribute this,
however, to either a) the fact that the second foals are colts and I think
my stallion throws better colts than he does fillies or b) dumb
luck....and their first foals are definitely not throwaways.

> I
> would imagine reality is somewhere in the middle, especially if you
> closely watched the mare to make sure she was letting the baby eat and
> nurse and so on---but I sure would like to hear comments and experiences
> from everyone else, especially the breeders that have been there and the
> vets that GOT 'em there! (hint, hint, Drs. Smith, Ralston and
> Dowling)<g>

My own observation about whether a mare is a good mother (nursing, caring,
etc)  or not (as opposed to a good dam) is that some mares are, and some
aren't...and the ones that are good are good from their first foal. 

kat
Orange County, Calif.